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Our Lady of Victory / St. Malachy
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Parish Pastoral Council

Our Lady of Victory and St. Malachy parishes belong to the Church of Gatineau-Hull of which Bishop Paul-André Durocher is the Chief Pastor. We are part of the English-speaking Zone of the Archdiocese. It has a Zone Pastoral Council, which brings representatives of the English-speaking parishes together to share information about the pastoral life of the parishes and to set the orientation for the pastoral life of these parishes.

Our Lady of Victory and St. Malachy parishes have a joint Parish Pastoral Council (PPC), which is responsible for the pastoral life of our parishes. The PPC focuses on the pastoral life of our 2-parish community and looks to activities, projects and the like in regards to our Christian life and its on-going development and growth.

M E M B E R S
(Chairperson) - Vacant
Joan Teske (Vice-Chairperson)
Linda Cameron (Secretary)
Gyanprakash Topno
Ellen Butler
Jean Dunnigan
Paul Jeffrey
Diane Bedard-Cameron


Constitution of the Parish Pastoral Council of the Parishes of
Our Lady of Victory and St. Malachy
  1. Name
    The organization shall be known as “The Parish Pastoral Council of the Parishes of Our Lady of Victory and St. Malachy”. It is the representative and coordinating body of both parishes together in pastoral matters.


  2. Purpose
    The Council shall, as a consultative body to the Pastor and in co-responsibility with the Pastor, provide leadership, direction, education, resources and encouragement in the parishes’ accomplishment of their mission as expressed under the four poles of church life: liturgy, faith formation, fellowship and service/outreach in accordance with the vision of the Church of Gatineau-Hull.


  3. Composition
    The Council shall consist of the following:
    1. the Pastor, as ex-officio President of the Council
    2. no less than six, no more than eight, elected lay Council members, representatives of both parishes.

  4. Eligibility
    To be eligible for election a candidate must be:
    1. a baptized and confirmed Roman Catholic
    2. a member of one of the parishes over the age of eighteen
    3. a participant in parish life
    4. committed to giving the time needed for participation

  5. Term of Office
    The term of office for Council members shall be three years. No person may be elected for more than two consecutive terms. Such a person may, however, stand for election again after a period of at least one year following his or her second consecutive term.


  6. Exceptional Circumstances
    When the Council is of the opinion that a certain segment of the Parish has not been adequately represented through the normal election process, the Council may appoint a qualified parishioner from that particular segment to serve as a lay Council member, with full speaking and voting rights, for a term of office of three years. Such appointed Council members shall be eligible for election or re-appointment at the end of their term, although no person may be appointed in this manner for more than two consecutive terms.


  7. Removal from Council
    When the Council is of the opinion that an elected or appointed Council member is unable to fulfill his or her responsibilities as a Council member because of illness, non-attendance at meetings of the Council, or for other exceptional circumstances, the Council may remove said Council member from his or her position as a Council member. Such a decision shall require a two-thirds majority vote of the Council.


  8. Vacancy on Council
    In the event that the position of an elected or appointed Council member should become vacant for any reason whatsoever, including the circumstance in which there were insufficient candidates for election, the Council may appoint a qualified parishioner to serve in that capacity for the remainder of the term of the position.


  9. Executive
    The Executive of the Council shall consist of the following Officers:
    1. the Pastor, as ex-officio President,
    2. a Chairperson,
    3. a Vice-Chairperson,
    4. a Secretary.

  10. Election of Executive
    At the September meeting, Council members shall elect from among themselves those Officers requiring election. Officers shall serve for a term of one year commencing immediately following their election. Officers shall be eligible for re-election to the same, or any other, Executive position.


  11. Removal from Executive
    When the Council is of the opinion that an elected Officer is unable to fulfill his or her responsibilities as an Officer because of illness, non-attendance at meetings of the Council, or for other exceptional circumstance, the Council may remove said Officer from his or her position as an Officer. Such a decision shall require a two-thirds majority vote of the Council.


  12. Vacancy on Executive
    In the event that the position of Chairperson should become vacant for any reason whatsoever, the Vice-Chairperson shall assume said position for the remainder of the term. In the event that the position of Vice-Chairperson or the position of the Secretary should become vacant for any reason whatsoever, Council members shall elect a replacement from among themselves, to serve in that capacity for the remainder of the term.


  13. Conditions of Service
    The Council members and the Executive shall serve, and shall exercise their functions, on a gratuitous basis. Notwithstanding the foregoing, legitimate expenses incurred by an Officer or a Council member in the conduct of the business of the Council shall be reimbursed by the Parishes.


  14. Duties of Chairperson
    The Chairperson shall:
    1. chair all meetings of the Council
    2. determine the agenda for the meetings of the Council, in consultation with the other members of the Executive
    3. call special meetings of the Council, in consultation with other members of the Council, as deemed necessary for the conduct of business
    4. participate in diocesan meetings for Parish Pastoral Councils
    5. act as the official representative of the Council on all matters of interest to the Parishes.

  15. Duties of Vice-Chairperson
    The Vice-Chairperson shall:
    1. assist the Chairperson with Council duties
    2. temporarily assume the duties of the Chairperson when the Chairperson is absent
    3. serve as Chairperson for the balance of the term if that position becomes vacant for any reason whatsoever.

  16. Duties of Secretary
    The Secretary shall:
    1. assist in the preparation of agendas for meetings of the Council
    2. keep minutes of all meetings of the Council
    3. conduct all necessary correspondence.

  17. Duties of Council Members
    The Council members shall address the general purposes and functions of the Council. In addition, they shall as may be assigned by Council to:
    1. act as a liaison with Committees or Groups or Organizations of the Parishes
    2. serve as representatives to the Zone Pastoral Council
    3. assume other duties as required

  18. Meetings of Council
    Regular meetings of the Council shall be held, if at all possible, on the premises of the parishes on a monthly basis except during July and August. The date, time, and place of regular meetings shall be decided by the Executive.


  19. Special Meetings
    Special meetings of the Council may be called at any time by any member of the Executive in consultation with the other members of the Executive.


  20. Attendance
    Council members unable to attend a meeting shall inform either the Secretary or the Chairperson in advance of the meeting. Council members absent without notification for three consecutive meetings shall be deemed in non-attendance, and shall be subject to removal from office as provided for in Paragraph 7.


  21. Quorum
    No business shall be transacted by the Council unless a quorum is present. A quorum shall consist of the Pastor or his delegate, the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson, and three Council members.


  22. Decisions
    Decisions of the Council regarding the overall policies, goals, and objectives of the Parishes, shall preferably be reached through consensus. A consensus has been reached when everyone can live with the decision. If a formal vote is required, no major policy or proposal should proceed without a two-thirds affirmative vote. Simple administrative decisions can be decided by a simple majority.


  23. Conduct of Meetings
    All meetings of the Council shall be open to members of the Parishes, who may, at the discretion of the Chairperson, speak on any matter before the Council; parishioners shall, however, not have any vote in the deliberations of the Council. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Council may discuss items of a confidential or sensitive nature in closed session, and to that end, may exclude members of the Parishes for those items only. In such event, the discussion and decision on these confidential items shall be appended to the Minutes of the Council as a confidential annex, and shall be withheld from general circulation.


  24. Minutes
    A copy of the Minutes of the Council meetings and a copy of the Agenda of the upcoming meetings shall be available to all Council members, no less than three days prior to the next meeting.


  25. Parish Committees, Ministries, Groups, and Organizations
    In order to meet the needs of the Parishes, the Council may from time to time establish, dissolve or suspend the Parish Committees, Ministries, Groups or Organizations after careful deliberations and discernment.


  26. Establishment and Recognition
    Parish Committees, Ministries, Groups or Organizations desiring establishment and formal recognition shall submit an application to that effect to the Council for approval. Such application shall describe the name and purpose of the committee, ministry, group or organization, its objectives, the needs to be served, the overlap (if any) with existing committees, ministries, groups or organizations, and any other relevant information.


  27. Reporting to Council
    With the exception of the Council of Wardens, legally established as the Fabriques of the Parish of Our Lady of Victory and of the Parish of St. Malachy, all Committees, Ministries, Groups and Organizations shall from time to time report to the Council about their activities.


  28. Nominations and Elections to Council
    1. Nominating Committee
      The Council shall create, at least four weeks prior to an election, an Ad Hoc Committee of no more and no less than three parishioners designated as the Nominating Committee, the mandate of which shall be to:
      1. seek and screen candidates for Council from the parishes at large in accordance with the eligibility requirements detailed in Paragraph 4
      2. conduct the election process
      3. report on the foregoing to the Council
    2. Electoral Process
      The Nominating Committee shall conduct the election process in accordance with generally accepted parish election protocol.
    3. Chairperson and Members
      The Chairperson of the Nominating Committee, and the Members thereof, shall be appointed by the Council. No Council member shall serve on a Nominating Committee.
    4. Dissolution
      The Nominating Committee shall be dissolved automatically subsequent to the election having taken place.

  29. Parishes’ General Assembly
    1. Once a year a General Meeting of the membership of both parishes shall be convened and shall be designated as the Parishes General Assembly.
    2. Notice of the Parishes’ General Assembly and of major agenda items, if any, shall be placed in the Parish Bulletin, and posted on the Church bulletin board at least three weeks prior to the date of the meeting.
    3. The Parishes General Assembly may consider any matter which it deems relevant. This may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
      1. review of the previous year’s challenges and accomplishments
      2. consideration of substantial policy changes and major projects
      3. approval of amendments to the Constitution

  30. Changes to the Constitution
    Changes to this Constitution may be made at any time by the agreement of the majority of the members of the Council and any such changes shall be published in the parish bulletin. However, these changes must be ratified by the next Parishes’ General Assembly.

December 14, 2004
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